Equity benchmarks continued to trade lower, with the Sensex falling over 100 points, while the Nifty dropped quarter of a percent.

At 12:39 hrs IST, the Sensex is down 104.52 points or 0.27% at 37919.85, while the Nifty is down 29.40 points or 0.26% at 11441.30. The market breadth is negative as 999 shares advanced, against a decline of 1,435 shares, while 116 shares were unchanged.

Banks have taken it on their chin, as the Bank Nifty fell around half a percent. The Nifty PSU bank index is down over 2 percent. Pharmaceuticals, metals and energy names are other top losers. The Nifty Auto is up, courtesy a rally in Eicher Motors.